AMSTERDAM: Leading digital travel platform Booking.com has announced an array of new product features in celebration of the one year anniversary of its Travel Sustainable Programme.
Introduced in 2021 to provide travellers with transparent and credible information to make more mindful choices for their trips, the aim has been to recognise the efforts of a wide range of accommodation to operate more sustainably.
Booking.com also hopes to provide travellers with consistent and easy-to-understand information so they can make more informed sustainable choices.
To celebrate the first year the company is now introducing three distinct badge levels to the Travel Sustainable programme.
Aligned to the principle that reputable, third-party certification remains the gold standard in the industry, the new levels to the Travel Sustainable programme provide better visibility and recognition for currently uncertified properties that are taking steps to operate more responsibly, with regards to their impact on the environment and their local community.
The levels help illustrate a clearer pathway for accommodations to work towards eventual certification, especially those that might be at an earlier stage in their sustainability journey. The aim is to also help encourage and incentivize more accommodations to continue making progress towards that goal.
For travellers, the new badge levels have been designed to show where different accommodations are at on their individual sustainability journeys, as well as the specific measures they are implementing.
Hopefully it will make it easier for travellers to see those that have made outstanding commitments and investments on this front to achieve one of more than 40 recognized ecolabels and certifications.
The new badge levels for Travel Sustainable are as follows:
Level 1: This new entry-level designation for the Travel Sustainable badge indicates that a property has implemented some impactful sustainability practices. This Level 1 badge will soon show up with one leaf and includes a full display of all practices that have been implemented.
Level 2: Accommodations receiving the Level 2 version of the Travel Sustainable badge have made considerable investments and efforts to implement impactful sustainability practices. The Level 2 badge will soon show up with two leaves and includes a full display of all practices that have been implemented.Level 3: The Level 3 Travel Sustainable badge is reserved for those accommodations that have made large investments and efforts to implement impactful sustainability practices, but have not yet achieved an official third-party certification yet. The Level 3 badge will soon show up with three leaves and includes a full display of all practices that have been implemented.
Earlier this year we reported on Booking.com’s survey which said more than half of UK travellers want to stay in green hotels.
You can read more about the Travel Sustainable Programme here.